Toy locomotive



April 28,v 1931.

| cARUso TOY LOCOMOTIVE Filed April 26 1928 U lNVENTOR [0a/5 (v/w50.

ATTORNEY Patented pr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ,l LOUISCARUSO, OE 'IRVINGTON NEW JERsEY, AssIGNOR 'ro THE LIONEL CORPORATION,

OE NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OE NEW YORK TOY LocOMoTrvEApplication filed April 26,

The present invention relates to toy locomotives and is moreparticularly directed to the provision of a rubber tired wheel adaptedto be run on fixed metal rails.

The standard practice for many years has been to provide toy locomotiveswith four or more driving wheels all of which were in driving relationwith the rails'. The same type of all metal wheels were used onmechanically driven toy locomotives and on toy electric locomotives. Inthe toy electric locomotive it is customary to ground one side of themotor circuit onto the frame of the toy locomotive and have the currentconducted through the wheels into the track rails, one or both of thetrack rails being used as the return conductor for the current used inthe motor.

The purpose of a toy locomotive is to pro vide the pull or tractiveeffort on the cars so as to draw them along the track. The length andweight of the train which can be drawn over the track by a particularlocomotive depends on the power Which the motor is capable ofdeveloping. The tractive effort, however, is also dependent upon theweight of the locomotive and on the coeticient of friction between thedriving wheels and track.

These toy railroad tracks are ordinarily made of sheet steel, while thelocomotive wheels are made of ordinary castings or die castings, or maybe provided with applied metal treads such as shown in reissue Patent16,351. In all these cases the contact has been between the metal railsand metal wheel and the coeicient of friction from metal to metal is thedetermining factor which limits the amount of tractive effort which canbe applied, for as soon as the load becomes too great, the wheels slip,making it impossible for the locomotive lto satisfactorily pull thetrain.

According to the present invention the tractive effort is remarkablyincreased by utilizing one or more wheels having treads provided withmaterial with a high coefficient of friction with respect to steel. Moreparticularly the present invention 'is directed toward providing one ormore of the wheels of the toy locomotive with a rubber band or treadwhich will engage with the track and pre- 1928. Serial vNo. 272,883.

placed in any desired position on the toy locomotive. TWhere two suchrails are used, it will be preferable to have them diagonally oppositeone another on the trucks, for, in this case, the application of therubber tired wheels will permit grounding the motor to both rails sothat the signal and `power supply circuits will function inthe ordinarymanner. Y

The accompanying drawings show, for

purposes of illustrating the present invention, two of the many possibleforms of toy wheel which may be employed,`;it being understood that thedrawings are illustrative of the invention rather than limiting the ysame.

In these drawings: f

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a toy locomotive on asection of toy yrailway track;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the trucks of thelocomotive on the track;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of one form of toy wheel; y

Figure 4 is a central sectional viewofthe same; i

Figure 5 is a form of rubber tire or Vband which maybe used with FigureV3;

Figure 6 is a sectional viewv showing a modiied form of construction;and

Figure 7 is a ,sectional view showing another modified form ofconstruction.

The toy locomotive is indicated at 10 in Figure 1 and is provided withthe usual wheels 11 and 12 adapted to ride on the track rail 13. Othersimilar wheels 14 and 15 are adapted to ride on the opposite track rails16. As diagrammatically indicated in Figure 2, the toy locomotive has amotor M connected to a collecting shoe 17 adapted to cooperate withthethird rail 18 in theusual manner. The locomotive motor M is grounded tothe running gear so that the current passing the motor goes through therunning gear of the locomotive and the track rails 13 and 16. In thisarrangement the Wheel 11 for example may be the Wheel provided With theanti-slip tread While the remaining Wheels 12, 14 and 15 may be theordinary all metal construction. By this arrangement the grounding ofthe circuit through the motor Will not be interfered with.

The form of Wheel shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, contemplates the use of adie casting indicated generally by the character 20. It has a hub 21adapted to receive the truck shaft, a number of spokes 22 adapted tosupport theL tread portion 23, .and a flange 24 adapted to pass downinside the track rail in the usual manner. The die casting is alsoprovided with an annular channel or recess 25. This recess is notched asindicated at 26 and a rubber ring 27 shown in Figures 4 and 5 is adaptedto be placed into the recessk or channel 25. This rubber ring hasprojections indicated at 23 adapted to be iitted into the notches 26.Various other forms of interiittingv members between 'the casting andthe lever ring may be employed for the purpose of preventing slippage ofthe rubber ring on the cast Wheel body.

In the form of construction shown in Figure 6 the Wheel 30 is of thesame general shape as that shown in Figure 4 but instead of using arubber treadwhich tits into an annular recess or channel the rubbertread 31 as here shown is in the form of a simple ring Which is held inthe tread portion of this Wheel. y

In the form of construction shown in Figure 7, the anti-slip tread 40 isheld in place on the cast Wheel body 41 by means of a plate 42 attachedtothe Wheel body by bolts 43.

`While the preferred material for use as an anti-slip tread is composedprincipally of rubber, it is to be understood that other .materialshaving high coeiiicient of friction may be substituted.

It has been found that locomotives equipped with one or more of thesespecially tired Wheels are capable of producing a higher tractive pullthan is the case when the same size locomotive and motor-is employedwith all metal Wheels. A single rubber tired Wheel will effectivelypreventV slipping under a load which could not be carried with all metaltreads. l

It is obvious that the invention may be embodied in many forms andconstructions, and I wish it to be understood that the particular formsshown are but a :teW of the many forms. Various modifications andchanges being possible, I do not limit myself in any Way with respectthereto.

I claim:

v1. A mobile electric toy adapted to run on fixed metallic track havingrails, one of which and other driving Wheels having anti-slipk treads toincrease the tractive pull available. Signed at Irvington, in the countyof Essex, and State of New Jersey, this 19th day of April, 192e.

, Y LOUIS CARUSO.

